Why Nuclear Companies are Coming to India

One aspect of the debate on nuclear power which deserves more attention is the very low number of under-construction nuclear reactors in most developed countries. While the number of operational reactors is very high in countries like the USA and France, the number of under- construction reactors is low even in these two leading countries. This is evident from the table given below:

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency

The entire debate needs to be seen against this background—as a result of the growing awareness about the extreme environmental and safety threats of nuclear power, the number of under-construction plants in developed countries is very low. In fact in 11 of the richest countries the total number of under-construction nuclear reactors is only four.

In this situation the nuclear power companies of these countries are under pressure to seek a greater share of their future market in countries like India, but at the same time keeping in view the extremely high risks of nuclear power they wish to minimise all liabilities. The strategy they pursue is to begin by asking for almost complete waiving of all liability. These companies also know that this is not possible, but their strategy is to start bargaining with this in the hope that they will be able to get a final result which is quite close to exemption from liability.
From the point of view of India’s people and environment, however, the most important concern is that from the first stage to the last, from the mining work to the disposal of waste, nuclear power is the most hazardous source of energy known yet.